Drop In?

Earlier this year, I blogged about how a trio of films driven by some core gimmick all disappointed me in some way, and had me thinking it was time to take a break from what basically amounted to cinematic clickbait. I failed to clock that barely a month later, I watched a film that was decidedly gimmick driven, and absolutely loved it. So I suppose context matters: exactly what is the hook, who is delivering it... and maybe what is the environment you're watching it in.

They have done studies showing that your mood is affected by airplane travel. I can personally attest that when I watch a movie -- even on the tiny screen on the seat back in front of me -- I have found myself enjoying things I probably wouldn't have received as well otherwise. And so it was when, on my way to Gen Con last week, I watched Drop.

Drop is a tight 95-minute horror-thriller about single mother Violet, going out on a date again for the first time since the death of her husband. As she settles in at the table with her date, she's being pinged by annoying "drops" on her phone from some unknown party in the restaurant. When she's compelled to actually receive the messages, she finds herself in a blackmail situation -- steadily escalating demands are made of her, all as she must keep her date in the dark, and struggle on her own to discover who is sending the drops and putting her in this situation.

This is obviously quite a gimmick-driven premise. But unlike No One Will Save You, where the gimmick of no dialogue is a stylistic formality, here the gimmick feeds oddly into the thriller genre. "How will the writers navigate keeping the story alive in the confines of this one restaurant?" is kind of a suspenseful question of its own, echoing the plight of the main character. 

I won't pretend the movie excels in this. There aren't really enough suspects put in play to make a big mystery of it. And when the villain's motivations are finally revealed, it's impossible to believe there wasn't an easier way to achieve the goals than this. But set all that aside, and the movie is fully exploring the space it sets out for itself. The protagonist basically does try about every reasonable thing you could think of to get out of her situation. The movie itself basically deploys every twist you could imagine within the conceit of "being terrorized via text message." The movie eats, and leaves no crumbs.

Meghann Fahy stars as Violet, and makes a good horror heroine. I'd only ever seen her before on season two of The White Lotus, but that was very much an ensemble show. Here, she has the spotlight and manages to ground some rather unreal situations with a sense of reality. She won't win any awards here, but this kind of movie doesn't work at all without a strong lead.

And I felt that the movie does kinda work. Perhaps only in the context of "it'll do for an airplane flight," but I'd give Drop a B-. If you like thrillers, and are up for a more modern take on Scream's classic "spooky phone calls," it might be worth your time.